Anthony DeSaxe
Anthony 'Tony' Michael Dominic DeSaxe IV, also known under his family's traditional moniker of Hades, is the former King of Underworld of the Four Legendary Kingdoms. History Early History Anthony DeSaxe was born in 1960 as a royal. He and his younger brother Yago became members of the Kingdom of the Underworld (which did not include their French homeland) as part of the ancient group known as the Four Legendary Kingdoms. Because of his membership in the Four Kingdoms, Anthony was taught about the true history of mankind, as well as learning of the five trials set by super-ancient beings to test humanity. As they grew up, Anthony and Yago were close, albeit competitive with one another, but when Yago realised that Anthony would inherit most of their father's titles, wealth and land, he became bitter towards his older brother. Following his father's death, Anthony became the patriarch of the DeSaxe family, and inherited the title of King of the Underworld, becoming the fourth of the DeSaxe family to do so, and also taking on the King's traditional title Hades from his ancient predecessor. Anthony made efforts to show his younger brother that there was no need for things between them to change, however Yago spurned all of Anthony's offered land, money and other such assets, instead continuing the important role as Governor of Royal Prison of Erebus that their father had arranged for Yago before his death. As the King of the Underworld, Hades's domain, though the smallest of the Four Kingdoms and comprised primarily of just India, also included the vast meteor crater which housed the Underworld, which had been the setting for three previous Great Games of the Hydra and several myths that the world had come to misinterpret. As the Underworlds' ruler, Hades also became the master of the enslaved race of Neanderthals (referred to mostly as minotaurs by the Four Kingdoms) that resided there. Hades, though firm in his treatment of them, treated them more fairly than most of his predecessors, and even became friendly with the Minotaur King, Minotus. Hades' most important asset in the Underworld, however, was the great antennae which would only activate following to the third trial set by the super-ancient beings. Among the other things Hades inherited as King of Underworld were the Helmet of Hades, one of the Three Immortal Weapons crucial to the Trial of the Cities, and a large portion of a tablet that was a part of the Altar of the Cosmos. Regarding the latter, Hades would spend millions of dollars having a super-computer built that could translate the Word of Thoth written upon it, but the project failed, as did his attempts to locate the Oracle of Siwa, Milo Omari, to have him translate it. As part of his interest in ancient artefacts, Hades would also occasionally discreetly purchase artefacts from the blood antiquities dealer Sunil "Sunny" Malik. While attending a dinner hosed by a previous King of Land, Hades was privileged enough to see the a papyrus written by Zeus, the last King to receive the Mysteries, and saw the translation regarding the last two trials of the ancients. Meanwhile, the outside world assumed Anthony was just a private and wealthy corporate owner who held the title of Marshal of France. With the $2 billion inherited from his father, Anthony was able to turn this into $12 billion within a few short years thanks to good business deals in mining and shipping ventures; the latter being accomplished through his company of DeSaxe Shipping Co., which both constructed and deconstructed shipping vessels. By the early 1990's, Hades and his wife had two sons, Dionysius and Zaitan. Before The Four Legendary Kingdoms During the late 20th century and early 21st century, both the Kingdom of Land and Kingdom of Sea used their agents to undergo missions to complete the first two of the five trials, the Tartarus Rotation and the Return of the Dark Sun. Since information and components relating to the first two trials had become lost over the centuries, Hades made no effort to take part in either mission, believing that if humanity had lost the knowledge for completing the trials and failed as a result, then they did not deserve to exist. Sometime between 2010 to 2011, Hades's wife died. Knowing that the time for the third trial, and thus the fourth Great Games of the Hydra, would occur in the next few years, Hades assigned one of his servants, Vacheron, the task of Games Master, in which he would prepare and modify some of the arenas to modern standards for the Challenges the Champions would face. As part of Hades's ongoing quest to make note of individuals who could prove valuable to him and the other Kingdoms, professors at Caltech passed on to the King of Underworld the impressive papers written by Alby Calvin during his studies there. In 2016, the Star Chamber within the Underworld opened, allowing the nine Golden Spheres to be retrieved. As this heralded the third trial, the Diverting of the Hydra Galaxy, Hades alerted the other Kingdoms of the development, with the Great Games of the Hydra set to begin within the next 40 days. Having been anticipating that the Chamber would open, Hades made preparations to select his four champions, eventually choosing his son Zaitan, Sachin Singh, Wasim Nasiruzzin and Ravi Mano. Prior to the commencement of the Games, Hades had the Golden Spheres examined to determine the properties they comprised, and promised Minotus that once the Games were completed he would allow his people their freedom and grant them the Underworld to live in. When Iolanthe Compton-Jones contacted Hades to request permission to select a replacement Champion following the death of one of the Kingdom of Land's selection, Hades agreed to allow it. The Four Legendary Kingdoms Once the 14 Champions who completed the First Challenge emerged into the arena, Hades greeted them from the viewing balcony and welcomed them to the start of the fourth Great Games of the Hydra, taking particular note of the Fifth Warrior of the ancient prophecy, Jack West Jr. As he continued his speech, Hades was surprised to be interrupted by Jason Chen, who announced his refusal to take part. After allowing Vacheron to execute him, Hades continued his opening speech and then turned the running of the Games to Vacheron. Hades watched the various struggles of the Champions as they progressed through the water pit of the Second Challenge while being pursued by his warriors Fear and Chaos. Once the last Champion, Jack, emerged from the pit, Hades congratulated the winner who had retrieved the Golden Sphere, Gregory Brigham. In keeping with the ancient tradition of the Games, Hades offered Brigham a reward for winning the Challenge, and nonchalantly agreed to the SAS trooper's request to have Barrett Johnson executed. During the interim before the Third Challenge, Hades ventured to the cell of Jack and his support team, arriving just after Iolanthe explained the Four Kingdoms and Great Games to them. Jack accused the King of Underworld of taking sadistic pleasure in watching people fight to the death, though Hades claimed that this was not the case and that he was only doing what his duty required. Hades then announced his intent to take Lily away, as she was an Oracle of Siwa whose bloodline was noble enough to warrant her a place among the Royals. Though initially refusing, Jack relented and encouraged Lily to with Hades, who then put the Oracle under Iolanthe's care. Proceeding to watch the Third Challenge with the other Royals, Hades took particular interest in Jack as he fought against the Gorkha to avoid being the last in the arena and executed. Hades showed little emotion upon seeing Jack go back for his companion, but was surprised when he also started carrying one of the minotaurs with him to the exit. When Dion asked his father if it was a legal move in the Games, Hades responded that Jack was not breaking any rules that he knew of. Before making the final leap, Jack asked for confirmation that he could keep whatever he brought out the arean, in this case the minotaur, and Hades nodded an approval. With the Challenge won by Brigham again, Hades agreed to fulfill the reward's use to have Tenzin Depon killed. After the Third Challenge, Hades proceeded to host a banquet for the Royals gathered in his Kingdom. When he spied Lily observing the coats of arms representing the Four Kingdoms, Hades explained his Kingdom's motto and formally introduced himself, taking Lily's lack of formality in defiance of her circumstances in his stride. Hades iterated his role to manage the Games without emotion or favour, and explained his reasons for not taking part in the missions to restore the Golden Capstone or the Machine before bidding Lily a good evening. During the dinner, Dion suggested to his father that the heiress of the Oracle of Siwa would make a fine queen for him, especially since it would merge Lily's lineage with the Kingdom of Underworld's, a suggestion Hades took into consideration. The next morning, Hades joined the rest of the Royals in watching the Fourth Challenge, and upon witnessing Zaitan retrieve the first Golden Sphere he clapped at his son's success. When he saw Lily prepare to shout a warning to Jack about Mephisto's looming ambush, Hades warned her that it was not for them to interfere. Thinking quickly, Lily surreptitiously knocked a champagne glass out of another Royals' hand so that when it smashed the sound alerted Jack to the danger. When Hades glanced at Lily she feigned ignorance. Before the progression moved on for the Fifth Challenge, Hades hosted a lunch for the Kings and their remaining Champions, which in his case was only Zaitan. During the lunch, Hades asked his son and the other winner of the Fourth Challenge, Victor Vargas, what they would like as thier reward for retrieving one of the Spheres. When both requested exemption from the Fifth Challenge, Hades approved of their knowledge regarding the difficult Challenge, and informed the gathering that once the Fifth Challenge was completed they would move to the Summit Temples, asking that the Champions not hate him for testing them since he only sought to find the world's greatest heroes. After the Fifth Challenge began, Hades watched as Jack brought down Fear and took his armour, before calling out to the King of the Underworld to reveal his realisation about the Labours that had been based on the Great Games and coming to realise what he had to do to win. Though Vacheron offered to punish Jack's insolence, Hades was impressed with Jack's display of courage and requested that the Fifth Warrior do what he must. When Jack initiated an escape for his and Schofield's support team, however, Hades impassively ordered Vacheron to respond to this action. When Jack was brought back before the Royals after sending his friends on, Hades watched silently as Vacheron prepared to execute him. Schofield, however, announced his desire to use his reward for winning the Fifth Challenge to have Hades spare Jack's life. To ensure Hades agreed, Schofield backed him into a corner by suggesting that refusing to agree would show he was not as powerful as he claimed. Once Hades asserted that Schofield was prepared to take the risk lest Jack end up killing him later on, the ruler of the Underworld agreed. With that, Hades went with the rest of the procession to the Summit Temple to watch as the first five Golden Spheres were set into place within the mountains's obelisk. Before proceeding to the observatory for the remaining Challenges, Hades, as the Underworld's host, made several announcements regarding the ascension of several of the member of the Four Kingdoms, among them an agreement with Orlando Compton-Jones to arrange a marriage between Iolanthe and Vacheron (a reward for the latter's service over the years and during the Games), and granting Dion his request to give Lily to him to marry upon the completion of the Great Games. Hades watched the final Challenges as they took place in the observatory, in which he once again clapped for his son's victories as Zaitan bested Renzin Depon and Brigham in single combat. When Jack managed to kill Zaitan, Chaos and the Hydra in the Eighth Challenge, all of the watching Royals glanced nervously at Hades to gauge his reaction to his son's death, and Hades simply bowed his head in silence to mourn his son. When Jack was faced with Cerberus, Hades was impressed with Jack's knowledge and humility when he requested permission to being his warrior to him, as the final Challenge dictated. Thus with Hades's permission, Jack brought Cerberus before the ruler of the Underworld and won the Great Games. Hades and the rest of the Royals soon went back to the Summit Temple in order to watch Orlando receive the Mysteries while the Hydra galaxy was diverted, placing the final four Golden Spheres into position himself. However, when the minotaurs suddenly turned against the Four Kingdoms, Hades was stunned as he watched Jack prevent Orlando from receiving the Mysteries. As the members of the Four Kingdoms began fleeing, the despondent Hades mused at the turn of events, believing he had failed in his duty. Jack, however, asked for his help in completing the remaining trials, having seen that Hades was the only King during the Games who was not acting selfishly by doing his duty, and revealed that Dion and Zaitan had conspired to kill him. Inspired by Jack's declaration that they save the world the right way, Hades agreed to help him uncover the lost information regarding the final two trials, joining him, Lily and Iolanthe as they began making their way down the mountain. When they came across Dion after reviving Schofield, Hades questioned how his son could have turned against him, and Dion responded that Hades was a person who should inspire fear in others. Before Dion could kill them, he was shot first by Alby, who had arrived with Minotus. After Minotus explained to Hades his need to act in the face of Dion and Zaitan's plans (which Alby had told him about), Hades relayed his gratitude and agreed to uphold his promise to give Minotus and his people their freedom. After Minotus secured a chopper for them to depart the Underworld in, Hades left the Underworld to his former minions. After learning that Orlando and Ricardo Mendoza were still alive and planning to locate the three secret cities for the knowledge needed for the remaining trials, Hades affirmed that they had a little time until the next trial began, and so Jack led Hades and the others back to his farm to gather themselves and rest. When she saw Hades disembark from the Sky Warrior, Zoe didn't know what to make of him. The Three Secret Cities . Personality The current holder of the title of Hades, Anthony DeSaxe is a complex man who maintains a fine line between fulfilling his duties and non-empathetic cruelty. Most often inscrutable, forcing himself to see the world in black and white, Anthony does well not to let his emotions show when he is surprised or angered. Like the other members of the Four Legendary Kingdoms, Anthony displays some signs of arrogance and disregard for those beneath his exalted status, however, compared to the other Kings, Anthony is clearly the most reasonable among them. Indeed, he feels more inclined to serve his duties as best he can rather than indulge in selfish desires. He is noted to be very wise, as comes from his time ruling the Underworld, where its importance throughout history has helped him to focus his mind on the lessons of the past. Unlike some of his predecessors, Anthony understands the importance in how he treats his underlings, even his Minotaur slaves, as Minotus noted that he was firm but fair. Anthony also recognises the difference between insubordination and courage, being impressed with Jack's announcement that had realised what he had to do to win the Games. Anthony was also willing to relent when Jack suggested that they save the world the right way instead of how he and the other Kings had been going about it. Trivia *Hades is the first main antagonist in any of Reilly's novels to change his ways and join the protagonist (not including Jack and Wolf's brief alliance during The Five Greatest Warriors due to Wolf's continued actions against his son later). *The other ceremonial names that DeSaxe goes by include: **The Adversary of Light **The Accuser **The Fallen One **The Keeper of the Temple **The Prince of the Grigori **Iblis **Shaitan **Thanatos **Sataniel **Ruler of the Nightlands **Ba'al Zevuv **Beelzebub *Hades notes himself to be a fan of the South Park interpretation of Satan, among other modern cartoon comedies. Category:Characters Category:Huntsman Characters Category:The Four Legendary Kingdoms Category:French Characters Category:Royals Category:Antagonists Category:Four Legendary Kingdoms Members Category:The Three Secret Cities Category:Former Antagonists Category:Protagonists